1976

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Rep. Bobby Crim of Davison, Mich., Democratic speaker of the state House, attended a Michigan Special Olympics event at Kearsley High School. A runner, he decided to start a race to raise money for Michigan Special Olympics.

Lois M. Craig, who became Crim's administrative assistant in 1976, helped plan the race with other volunteers. She served as race director through 1993.

1977

On Aug. 27, the first Bobby Crim 10-mile road race is run. It remains the hottest on record as of 2005, with the thermometer at 86 degrees and humidity at 80 percent by the noon start.

It costs $5 to enter the race, event raises $30,465 for Michigan Special Olympics.

Out of 758 registered entries, 576 finish.

The race begins at Mott Community College and ends in downtown Flint.

To keep track of runners' times, runners get numbered sticks to hand in as they cross the finish line. It takes a week to complete results, not all of them accurate.

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Ed Wiberg ran - and finished - his first Crim Race in white buckled-down clodhoppers. He raised thousands of dollars for Special Olympics and was known as ``Mr. Crim Race.''

758 entries

1977 10-Mile Run Winners Steve Kenyon, 50:05 Kim Merritt, 58:41

1978

The Crim returned for its second year, with a much earlier start time - 9:30 a.m.

On Dec. 15, 1978, race founder Bobby Crim and other dignitaries presented a check for $70,000 for Michigan Special Olympics, the race's primary charity for many years.

1,337entries

1978 10-Mile Run Winners Greg Meyer, 48:00 Celia Peterson, 59:30

1979

William Sill of Lansing, Mich., became the first 10-mile wheeler, using a stock, non-racing chair. His time: 1:53:54.

2,250 entries

1979 10-Mile Run Winners Herb Lindsay, 48:00 Joan Benoit, 55:41

1980

Jim Gaver, Michigan Television host, produces produced his first Crim coverage for WFUM (Channel 28). Camera crews had to run from place to place as no vehicles allowed on track.

3,500 entries


1980 10-Mile Run Winners Herb Lindsay, 47:06 Patti Catalano, 53:40

1981

The race start moves from Mott Community College campus to Robert T. Longway Boulevard to accommodate more entrants.

New Zealand's Lorraine Moeller - banned from amateur road racing by the Athletics Congress for accepting prize money in another race - finished second among women. Three English runners - Steve Kenyon, Nick Rose and Jeff Smith - withdrew on race day because running with Moeller could have affected their amateur status.

4,658 entries


1981 10-Mile Run Winners Herb Lindsay, 47:15 Patti Catalano, 55:35

1982

Steve Kenyon set a new course record with a time of 46:42.

The Flint Journal published its first Crim special section, one week after race, offers 11x14 Crim color photo for $5. Today, archival copies of pages and photos available at http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/store/

4,587 entries

1982 10-Mile Run Winners Steve Kenyon, 46:42 Joan Benoit, 53:17

1983

Construction of AutoWorld theme park at Fifth Avenue and Harrison Street forced a slight change in the 10-mile course.

A memorable fog greeted runners at the start.

5,243 entries

1983 10-Mile Run Winners Nick Rose, 46:58 Lisa Martin, 55:07

1984

As Bobby Crim prepared to leave the state House, Lois Craig convened a ìkitchen cabinetî around her dinner table at home. The 14 core organizers determined the future of the Crim race.

4,656 entries for the "almost" 10-mile race. In 1989, a glitch meant the course needed to be measured. That action found the 10-mile course from 1984-88 was actually shorter than 10 miles, a discovery that negated seven American 10-mile records set during that period.

One of the most lopsided finishes has England's Nick Rose beating American Ashley Johnson by a margin of 1:17.8. The men's races from 1985-1997 decided by margins of eight seconds or less.

10-Mile Run Winners Nick Rose, 46:59 Janice Ettle, 55:15

1985

The Crim Road Race became a nonprofit organization with a board of directors, no longer affiliated with Michigan Special Olympics.

4,653 entries

1985 10-Mile Run Winners Ken Martin, 46:54 Lisa Martin, 54:40